State and National Assessments and the Student with Special Needs

(This page was last updated on December 25, 2002)

• A Report of a Standard Setting Method for Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Disabilities
  • This report has been published by the National Center on Educational Outcomes in October 2002. This report states that "As required by Federal law (IDEA and Title I), state assessment systems must be designed to include all students in three ways, including participation in the general assessment with and without accommodations, or participation in an alternate assessment." It goes on to talk about how schools and school districts should go about making this happen.
• National Center on Educational Outcomes
  • This is a great site for information on statewide assessment systems and how kids with disabilities are being included in those systems. Lots of "how to do it" articles.
• Principles and Characteristics of Inclusive Assessment and Accountability Systems
  • This is a very thorough document which discusses what schools and school districts must consider when creating an inclusive assessment environment.
• State Alternate Assessments: Status as IDEA Alternate Assessment Requirements Take Effect
  • The phrase “alternate assessment” appears in the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and is required to be in place in all states by July 1, 2000. Alternate assessments are for the small number of students with disabilities who cannot participate in state and district-wide assessment programs. This article reports on how and what states were doing in this area in 2000.
• Students with Disabilities in Standards-based Assessment and Accountability Systems: Emerging Issues, Strategies, and Recommendations
  • This article was written in February 2001 and begins with the following statement: For too long, when we found that some students were not achieving high standards set for them, we lowered the standards for those students. Through standards-based reform, we have an opportunity to change that pattern. Now, for ALL students, we must keep the standards high, and do whatever it takes to help students be successful. We can change the curriculum, the structure, the time it takes to learn, the way we assess, but we cannot lower the standards.
• Summary of the 1997-1998 ACT and SAT Modifications
• Use of Alternate Assessment Results in Reporting and Accountability Systems: Conditions for Use Based on Research and Practice

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